An Innovative Approach to Real Estate Agent Careers and Opportunities! In March 2006 Phillip Cantrell launched Benchmark Real ... ty LLC with his wife Amanda. As a result of the economic downturn in late 2007 they sought to reformat the business under a new, more sustainable model. Based on extensive research, a new business plan was formulated and re-launched in February 2008 under a revolutionary brokerage model. Under this model, Benchmark agents keep 100% of their commissions AND enjoy complete freedom to structure each and every deal. No commission splits, no desk fees, no technology fees, just a low monthly fee. The company has seen rapid growth since then, consistently adding 9‐12 new agents to the roster each month. In fact, the firm has seen a doubling in all major indicators for each year of the past 4 years. Those indicators are: gross sales volume, gross commission income, profitability, transaction count and agent count. This cumulative success has pushed Benchmark to the top of real estate firms in the Middle TN area and perhaps into the top 10 in the entire state of Tennessee. read more